Nick Clegg clashes with David Cameron in calling for reform of drug laws

Nick Clegg is on a collision course with David Cameron on the issue of drugs (Picture: PA)

Nick Clegg has called for a reform of Britain’s drug laws, saying the battle against them is being lost on an industrial scale.

The deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats said it was time to take a different approach to the issue.

His comments put him at odds with prime minister David Cameron, who earlier this week rejected the idea of a royal commission on drugs.

This would see new guidelines introduced by a commissioner with quasi-judicial powers after a public inquiry.

Mr Clegg called on the prime minister to show courage over the debate on drugs.

Nick Clegg has called on David Cameron to take action on drugs (Picture: Getty Images)

In an interview with the Sun today, Mr Clegg said: ‘If you were waging any other war where you have 2,000 fatalities a year, your enemies are making billions in profit, constantly throwing new weapons at you and targeting more young people, you’d have to say you are losing and it’s time to do something different.’

He added: ‘I’m anti-drugs – it’s for that reason I’m pro-reform.

‘We are losing the war on drugs on an industrial scale.

‘In politics, as in life, you can’t keep on doing something that doesn’t work. You can’t keep repeating the same mistakes.’

Mr Clegg said he does not back full legislation of drugs, but thinks targeting dealers and traffickers, while decriminalising possession, might be a solution.

Mr Clegg said he will include a ‘clear commitment’ to a royal commission on drugs in his party’s 2015 manifesto.

‘I told the prime minister that this was a missed opportunity,’ he said. ‘He knows my views on this. He and I don’t agree on this.’

Mr Clegg has ordered Home Office minister Jeremy Browne to compile a report on liberal approaches to drugs across the world which have worked, including in Portugal, Amsterdam, Latin America and several US states.